Taking the inital "Next Step"

I just spent the best part of four hours writing a blog about Ascot, finding the pictures to go with it, editting it and posting it only to find out from Davina that I have already written about Ascot back in June when it actually happened. Lovely. I am very switched on and up to date obviously. So actually, I have no idea what I am up to on this blog, but will wing it and see what happens.


I am writing this entry in Sydney at my Mum's house. A series of events have lead me here but I am far from certain that this is where I should actually be. I guess only time will tell.


So how did I get here? The teacher I replaced at Telferscot Primary School decided not to return to her job after her maternity leave finished. No one was surprised by this at all. Not because she wanted to spend time with her son, but rather, she told me that she was so burnt out by the time she left that she just refused to consider returning at all. Over time this seemed to be a bit of a running theme at that school. Anyway, her job was advertised and the Head Teacher asked me to apply. I wasn't so sure. It was a permanent full time position with the school (I was employed through an agency at that point) and would mean a change in Visa and sponsorship which would limit my ability to move if I wanted to. After thought and consideration I thought you only live once and I might not even get the job anyway so I put my application in. I got an interview and sat down with the panel to answer their questions. Half way through the interview the Head Teacher asked me some really odd questions which made me think that there was more going on than I realised. I have always thought that the point of the interview process was to find the best candidate for the job. If I was the best candidate for the job I should be the one who gets it regardless of what nationality I am. Obviously I have much to learn and shouldn't be so naive. I walked away from the interview in a stunned awe. Writing this now and looking back it doesn't seem so dramatic but at the time I was just amazed that this system of doing things was so...dodgy is really the only word I can think of.


Between my interview and the outcome two very sad things happened in my class that shook me to the core. One of my children brought a gun to school; he came from a very difficult home life and he had brought it to school to show off. The second instance was a boy from my class was snatched from the playground. In both instances the school brushed the situation away with very little attempt to sort out the issue. I would rather not write up the circumstances here as it probably isn't appropriate but it left me more than a little bit shocked. I went home and downed a bottle of wine.


Two days later I was offered the full time job. But by this stage I didn't think I wanted to continue at Telferscot for another 12 months so I declined.


Another contributing factor was that my lovely co-worker Fran decided to leave to travel and then teach in Australia. She is an amazing teacher and we had a blast hanging out after hours too. Since she lived three streets away we used to have lunch or dinner at each others house with no tube travel involved. With no Fran at school how would I cope? :)


By the time school had finished and I had finished up working a few days at the holiday care camp for Sammi I had boxes everywhere in various stages of packing. Being the seasoned procrastinator that I am I went to Fran's parent's place in Devon to see her hometown and eat more "Devonshire Teas".